A medal for a man’s heroic actions back in the 1970’s has been returned to him 20 years after it was stolen.
Sean Doyle was out metal detecting in St. John’s Saturday afternoon when he discovered what appeared to be a medal of some kind, with the inscription E. J. Duff 1972.
When Doyle got home, he and his fiancé did some research and discovered that the medal is a Star of Courage, one of the highest awards for bravery in Canada.
(Photo via Sean Doyle Facebook.)
They then found out that the medal belonged to Edward Joseph Duff of St. John’s, who the age of 15 in September of 1972, dove 40 feet into the sea near Torbay after a girl fell into the water while trying to reach a cave on the cliffside.
Duff tried three times to get her to some nearby rocks, but the force of the waves continually dragged them back until he could no longer support her.
After reading Duff’s story, Doyle decided to reach out on the Facebook group Digging the Rock to try to find the owner. Within minutes he connected with a member of Duff’s family who informed him that the medal was stolen from the man’s house 20 years ago.
Doyle says later that day he met up with Duff and “after a few happy tears and a boatload of gratitude” the medal was back with its rightful owner.
